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 Two-mile-wide tornado slams Oklahoma City area 
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Post Two-mile-wide tornado slams Oklahoma City area
Shawnee, Oklahoma (CNN) -- A powerful tornado blasted an area outside of Oklahoma City on Monday, ripping roofs off buildings, leveling homes and leaving a massive band of destruction in its wake.
In the desperate seconds and minutes after the storm passed, the human toll was not yet clear.

Survivors emerged from shelters to see an apocalyptic vision -- the remnants of cars twisted and piled on each other to make what had been a parking lot look like a junk yard. Bright orange flames roaring from a structure that was blazing even as rain continued to fall.

At least one school was in the tornado's devastation zone in Moore, Oklahoma. Lance West, a reporter for CNN affiliate KFOR, said that rescuers were searching for students trapped in debris at the elementary school. There were no immediate reports on the condition of the children.

There were 75 students and staff at the school when the storm hit, KFOR reported.

"Our worst fears are becoming realized this afternoon," Bill Bunting, with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Storm Prediction Center, told CNN soon after the tornado struck.

snip

Read more here: http://www.cnn.com/2013/05/20/us/severe-weather/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

This is a breaking story. At least 4 people (including a baby) have been found dead. The fate of these children is still unknown, however, some children have been pulled from the debris of this elementary school.

As an aside, I lived in Moore when I was 7 years old. We went through 2 tornadoes when we lived on the farm there. Our farm is now a housing subdivision and I am afraid it was in the direct path of this horrific storm.

:candle

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Mon May 20, 2013 4:28 pm
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Post Re: Two-mile-wide tornado slams Oklahoma City area
Oklahoma Senators Jim Inhofe, Tom Coburn, Face Difficult Options On Disaster Relief

WASHINGTON -- As frantic rescue missions continued Monday in Oklahoma following the catastrophic tornadoes that ripped through the state, it appeared increasingly likely that residents who lost homes and businesses would turn to the federal government for emergency disaster aid. That could put the state's two Republican senators in an awkward position. :crylaugh

Sens. Jim Inhofe and Tom Coburn, both Republicans, are fiscal hawks who have repeatedly voted against funding disaster aid for other parts of the country. They also have opposed increased funding for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which administers federal disaster relief.

Late last year, Inhofe and Coburn both backed a plan to slash disaster relief to victims of Hurricane Sandy. In a December press release, Coburn complained that the Sandy Relief bill contained "wasteful spending," and identified a series of items he objected to, including "$12.9 billion for future disaster mitigation activities and studies."

Coburn spokesman John Hart on Monday evening confirmed that the senator will seek to ensure that any additional funding for tornado disaster relief in Oklahoma be offset by cuts to federal spending elsewhere in the budget. "That's always been his position [to offset disaster aid]," Hart said. "He supported offsets to the bill funding the OKC bombing recovery effort." Those offsets were achieved in 1995 by tapping federal funds that had not yet been appropriated.

In 2011, both senators opposed legislation that would have granted necessary funding for FEMA when the agency was set to run out of money. Sending the funds to FEMA would have been "unconscionable," Coburn said at the time.

Hart said Coburn had "never made parochial calculations" about Oklahoma's disproportionate share of disaster funds, "as his voting record and campaign against earmarks demonstrates." Hart added that Coburn, "makes no apologies for voting against disaster aid bills that are often poorly conceived and used to finance priorities that have little to do with disasters."

A representative for Inhofe could not immediately be reached for comment. Inhofe earlier tweeted: "The devastation in Oklahoma is heartbreaking. Please join me and #PrayforOklahoma. Spread the word."

Coburn also put out a message on Twitter, writing, "My thoughts and prayers are with those in Oklahoma affected by the tragic tornado outbreak."

Oklahoma currently ranks third in the nation after Texas and California in terms of total federal disaster and fire declarations, which kickstart the federal emergency relief funding process.

snip

Read more here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/20/oklahoma-senators-disaster-relief_n_3309234.html

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Tue May 21, 2013 6:25 am
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Post Re: Two-mile-wide tornado slams Oklahoma City area
Comments from: Senator Tom Coburn FB Page


Tom Coburn
13 hours ago
My thoughts and prayers are with those in Oklahoma affected by the tragic tornado outbreak.

Comments:

Bruce Curtis Fleming You are simply just a bad person. I don't believe your dumb. What I think you are is much worse.... I believe you are smart and know how to manipulate people to vote for you. You use fear and key words that you know will get people fired up just so that they vote for you. I hope everyone in that town finds out exactly what kind of person you are and democracy can put and end to the fear you instill unto the people... Your a sick man to even post that comment and remember that your God supposedly watches all.
24 minutes ago via mobile · Like · 4

Gary Cook You were elected by the same people who desperately need your help right now. Real Americans don't see red and blue states when disasters strike. We only see the United States!

You are being tested right now and you are failing miserably as a senator and a human being. Fucking piece of garbage!
24 minutes ago · Like · 3

Travis Pütz You're a despicable human being. Insisting on spending cuts BEFORE any relief?

To hell with you sir, and enjoy the weather!

Candace Baitz You may as well been with the looters last night digging through the rubble of what remains of people's lives. All in the name of your personal gain while parents look for their missing children. We are ashamed and I will make sure everyone I know remembers this in the next coming election. Or better yet we could cut some funding real quick with your job and your pension!
20 minutes ago via mobile · Like · 2

Neil Blaisdell Your thoughts and prayers are worthless.

Mike Wilson You are quite literally threatening the well being of American lives by playing politics. Anyone who is threatening American lives should be considered a terrorist and an enemy to the American people. You are the enemy. Americans will not stand for this. You disgust us all. Also, go to hell asshole.
21 minutes ago via mobile · Like · 3

Jamie Lynn You are a pathetic excuse for a Christian, let alone a human being. How could you possibly block relief for people who so desperately need it. Of course, with your cushy senate salary and pension that you and your colleagues have continued to increase for yourselves (must be nice to give yourselves raises when the rest of the country is in the toilet), YOU would have the means to rebuild if this happened to you. Go jump off a damned bridge. You disgust me.
20 minutes ago via mobile · Like

20 minutes ago · Edited · Like

Sherri Serbin You say you are a 'Christian' and believe in the 'sanctity of human life'? Would Jesus bargain before he helped people? Would he put budgets over human life and suffering? Money over people? What if those children were your grandchildren and your house and your life were destroyed? Would you say, "don't worry about us. Balance the budget first" have you no compassion, sir?
20 minutes ago via mobile · Like

Paul Carabajal what a hypocrite! You make this comment yet say you will vote against relief for the families who have lost EVERYTHING including CHILDREN! SHAME ON YOU! YOU ARE A TOTAL DISGRACE TO OUR GREAT STATE! PLEASE RESIGN NOW!
20 minutes ago via mobile · Like · 3


Many more here.
https://www.facebook.com/teamcoburn?hc_location=timeline

Special thanks to sheshe2 @ Democratic Underground for this.

Can it possibly be that the neocon bubble is finally bursting? Let us pray...

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The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little. - FDR


Tue May 21, 2013 6:29 am
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Post Re: Two-mile-wide tornado slams Oklahoma City area
Obama Signs Oklahoma Disaster Declaration

WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama has declared a major disaster in Oklahoma as the state recovers from a massive tornado that ripped through the Oklahoma City suburbs Monday, killing dozens and flattening entire neighborhoods.

Obama has ordered federal aid to supplement state and local recovery efforts. Individuals and business owners affected by the disaster may apply for federal grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses and other programs.

The president promised federal assistance in a phone conversation earlier Monday with Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin (FAL'-ihn). The Federal Emergency Management Agency has sent a special team to Oklahoma's emergency operations center to help out and dispatch resources.

snip

Read full declaration here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/21/obama-oklahoma-disaster-declaration_n_3310234.html

:mrgreen:

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The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little. - FDR


Tue May 21, 2013 6:32 am
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Post Re: Two-mile-wide tornado slams Oklahoma City area
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The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little. - FDR


Tue May 21, 2013 1:04 pm
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Post Re: Two-mile-wide tornado slams Oklahoma City area
'There's just no rest' as new twisters kill 5 in tornado-traumatized Oklahoma
By Ben Brumfield, Holly Yan and George Howell, CNN
updated 8:08 AM EDT, Sat June 1, 2013

Union City, Oklahoma (CNN) -- The full scale of the destruction wrought by five new tornadoes that plowed through the Oklahoma City area became apparent in the light of day Saturday.
Friday evening's twisters killed at least five people, less than two weeks after a monstrous tornado made rubble of the town of Moore, a suburb of Oklahoma City.

"There's just no rest," said city spokeswoman Kristy Yager.

In all, 17 tornadoes were reported in the Midwest. The number was expected to change when officials conduct storm surveys, said Kurt Van Speybroeck, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

And while the twisters damaged houses in Missouri and Illinois, the brunt of its force was reserved for Oklahoma City and its surrounding areas, including El Reno and Union City.

Among the five reported deaths Friday were a mother and her child, officials said.

At least 71 others were injured.

The storm system swatted down power lines and uprooted trees, flicked big rigs on their sides and yanked off part of the terminal roof at Oklahoma City's Will Rogers World Airport.

snip

Read more here: http://www.cnn.com/2013/06/01/us/midwest-weather/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

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The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little. - FDR


Sat Jun 01, 2013 5:25 am
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Post Re: Two-mile-wide tornado slams Oklahoma City area
Storm chasers, TV personalities among Oklahoma fatalities
By Jake Carpenter, CNN
updated 10:37 AM EDT, Sun June 2, 2013

CNN) -- Three storm chasers were among the nine people killed in powerful storms that struck Oklahoma on Friday night, relatives told CNN on Sunday.

Tim Samaras, 55, his son Paul Samaras, 24, and Carl Young, 45, died while chasing a tornado in El Reno, relatives said.

snip

Tim and Paul Samaras and Carl Young were known to viewers of the former Discovery Channel show "Storm Chasers."

snip

Read more here: http://www.cnn.com/2013/06/02/us/midwest-weather/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

:candle

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The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little. - FDR


Sun Jun 02, 2013 8:00 am
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